Let's start with Madeira and its city, Funchal (which means "fennel"), familiar as the place ships often stop first when traversing the Atlantic in either direction.

For me the highlights were the tram ride to the mountaintop, a botanical garden visit, and a toboggan ride back down - like having dogsled drivers wheeling you down the streets in an open sleigh with runners sliding around corners as fast or slow as you like. Residents leave home at their peril. A return ride costs 30 euros and is worth it.

Morocco is unique and exotic. Two ports, Agadir and Casablanca, gave me my first taste of this North African country. Had I been in charge of scheduling, an overnight in Casablanca would have replaced the stop in Agadir, mainly a coastal beach resort for northern Europeans.

However, the Souk el Ahad market in Agadir is one of Morocco's largest under cover - reportedly 3,000 stalls - and is much better than the market nearest Casablanca's port, with products ranging from hand-sewn carpets to clothing, leather goods, giant pomegranates and figs.

A must-see in Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque, named after the current King Mohammed VI's father.

You can see the 210-metre minaret from the ship. he mosque is the third largest in the world and doors are open until 2 p.m., leaving time to return to the ship.

From Casablanca, you can take a tour either to Marrakech or Rabat, the nation's capital. Marrakech return takes close to 12 hours.

Rabat (five hours) was my choice because I wanted time to explore Casablanca. Rail transportation is frequent but sometimes late.

Once in Rabat, take the blue petit taxis - they're on a meter and much cheaper than the white Mercedes taxis.

The capital sits at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg on the Atlantic. Here in the Casbah of the Oudaias, we drank mint tea, ate sweets and enjoyed the view.

The palace was off limits but the king seems to live well, as kings do. Most embassies are here, including Canada's. Make sure to see the spectacular mausoleum of Mohammed V and his two sons. Mohammed is the grandfather of the current King Mohammed VI.

Four of the Canary Islands were on our schedule: Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife, but our cruise began and ended in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. With only a temperature swing of five to eight degrees from winter to summer on average near the water, you will not find weather extremes on any of these islands.

Wherever we travelled among these islands, we found green initiatives from windmills to solar, and most importantly walking, hiking and cycling.

In one solemn moment, a guide mentioned the 30 per cent unemployment while pointing out so much grows in this climate that no one goes hungry, including me.

I dined twice on wrinkled potatoes: boil in saltwater, dry and put them back in the pot to evaporate the steam and watch the salt layer up on the skins. They're outstanding.

So were my tours.

This unique Silversea itinerary highlighting the many layers the countries in this small geographic zone have to offer might not be available again.

Still, even though most Silversea cruises are one-off itineraries, you can make up your own cruise through a host of ferry systems that connect this part of the world.

Visit portsandbows.com for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Phil can be contacted directly at portsandbows@gmail.com.

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